brilliant creator he was known and admired to be. It was during
this transitional period of years at the turn of the century that
Koch developed the creative aesthetic he so desired, taking
inspiration from Art Nouveau style illustrations [predominantly
by Jugend, a popular German art magazine] and Germany’s own
history, as well as his devout Christian beliefs, which were the
basis for the majority of his compositions throughout his career.
He began formulating his own conceptual ideas and devised
methods on how he would create them, but for the time being,
all he had were simply that, ideas and ambitions. He wasn’t
nearly as skilled as he would have liked in drawing or painting,
and lacked the formal training necessary to create such bold
ambitions and desires.

ran

at
al

ion

sit
per
i

od

of

s

yea
r

5 â&#x153;Ś Masters of the Hand

6 â&#x153;Ś Masters of the Hand

m
Maximilian Schrift (1913)
â?§ Maximilian
is an example
of Koch's skill
with the pen.
The characters
combine a
fluid, organic
form with bold
fraktur strokes,
creating a soft
pattern that
brings it to life.

abcdefghijklm
nopqrstuvw
abcdefghijklmn
opqrstuvwxyz

7 ✦ Masters of the Hand

Kompakt (1952)

abcdefghijkl
mnopqrstuvwxyz
abcdefghijklmn
opqrstuvwxyz

lm
vwxyz

Through a series of failed
jobs and attempts at gaining
recognition, he began devising
illustrations indicative of the
Baroque, classical style he
favored so much, especially
through the technique of
punchcutting silhouetted
figures and ornamental
designs. Soon he discovered
his keen ability to create
beautiful calligraphy with a

broad-nibbed pen and quickly
made developing this newfound skill his priority, much
to the chagrin of his peers and
relatives, who were discouraged by his current financial
state and disapproved of his
ambitious dreams. Koch’s dedication and perseverance never
faltered, however, and through
his elegant work, it would all
soon pay off.

❧ Kompakt is a

heavy display face
by Hermann Zapf.
It makes a bold
statement and
demands attention
from its audience
with an authoritative tone.

ew have ever achieved the
caliber of penmanship skill
as Hermann Zapf.

He too was born in

ur

✍
g

Nuremberg, Germany, ca.

gibberish to those who could

tually offered a job as a photo

1918 to what he referred to as

not (3. Linotype). This was only

retoucher at the Karl Ulrich &

‘turbulent days’. Like Koch, he

the mere beginning for what

Company Printing Firm in 1934,

was surrounded by poverty

would become a long cam-

since the company had no need

and strife, losing two of his

paign of type design for him.

for a lithographer.

plagued Europe. Despite his

b

✍
no

early years being marred by

h

yed

into a keen, intelligent young
.
imman, intrigued by technologih
or

f

technological developments,
he sought to pursue a career

hscend beyond that and develop due to the rise of what would

s

ri

e
bb

i

Because of Zapf’s interest in

f tragedy, Zapf managed to tran- as an electrical engineer, but
of

la

gn

political model. He was even-

siblings to the Spanish flu that

n
ei

ec

he’d formulated and plain

become the Nazi regime, the

life. As a child, he developed
bizarre runes that played off
Germanic and Cyrillic style,
comprehensible only to those
able to crack the intricate code

four years, dutifully practicing
his calligraphic style and
techniques in his spare time,
learning and studying from
the likes of Rudolf Koch and

political circumstances pre-

especially Edward Johnston’s

he originally intended to do.

admire extensively, practic-

cal advances and by type, even vented Zapf from doing what
at such premature stages in his

He remained there for the next

teachings, whom he came to

Disappointed but not without ing the achieved effects seen

hope, Zapf pursued an appren- in Johnston’s Writing and
ticeship as a lithographer, but
was still turned down, due to
his opposition to the current

Illuminating and Lettering with
fervent eager (4. Zapf, pg. 7).

10 ✦ Masters of the Hand

❧ Rudolf Koch and Karl Klingspor (left),
and the Technische Lehranstalten, where
Koch taught, as seen in 1910 (right).

In 1906, Koch began working as a type designer and letterer
for the Klingspor type foundry in Offenbach, where he
remained until his death in 1934. It was there he found
his true calling and flourished, creating work that served
as the backbone for his future groundbreaking designs.

Due to Klingspor being ‘the first German foundry which
deliberately set out to employ artists for designing type’ (1.
Cinamon, pg. 18), it’s no surprise that Koch felt a sense of
belonging there, even though he only considered himself as
a mere craftsman and nothing more.
With Koch’s rapid development as a type-designer and letterer, he began teaching calligraphy and lettering at the Technische
Lehranstalten der Stadt Offenbach a.M in 1908, offering a diverse
range of methods on how to use calligraphy appropriately on a
versatile selection of mediums, such as tapestries, metal work
and others. Soon Koch developed a reputation that attracted
students from abroad, and increasingly launched his career
forward as a leading figure of typographic design.

11 ✦ Masters of the Hand

Deutscheschrift (1908)
❧ Koch's first typeface for
the Klingspor foundry was a
traditional German frakturfette style typeface,
with its bold strokes and
sharp angles.

Gilgengart (1938)
❧ Much like Koch, Zapf's
first typeface was also a
fraktur-fette style typeface.
The difference, however,
is its more elegant strokes
and delicate form.

13 ✦ Masters of the Hand

Likewise, Zapf’s attention
to detail and beautiful
calligraphic style was soon
acknowledged by the company
he worked for, and he was
re-assigned as a lettering
retoucher. In 1938, he finished

and working with hand-

his apprenticeship and moved

pressed type, familiarizing

forward with his career, land-

himself with type design more

ing a job in Frankfurt under,

frequently, to the point where

incidentally, Rudolf Koch’s

he released his first typeface,

son, Paul Koch, who ran the

the fraktur-style Gilgengart in

foundry Werkstatt Haus zum

1938 to the D. Stempel AG type

Fürsteneck. Here, he spent most foundry. Its bold yet elegant
of his time lettering songbooks

strokes evoked the style of
Koch’s earlier work, but
within these characters lied the
delicate touch that Zapf would
later become known for.

15 ✦ Masters of the Hand

❧ Hermann
Zapf with
Alexander S.
Lawson, who
wrote a great
deal on Zapf
and his work.

With Koch, his work is widely known to be very expressionistic and personally driven. As a devout Christian man—Lutheran
Protestant, specifically—he implemented Biblical teachings and
passages into his work, using them as a source of inspiration to
drive his ideas forward. This was an important part of his life,
and was acknowledged and appreciated by those around him.
As stated in Ernst Kellner’s words (a friend of the Koch family),
‘Rudolf Koch’s deep religiousness was also shared by his whole
family, and the Bible always held an important place in the
home. It supplied the standard for everything that happened…
The Master’s Christianity was alive and undogmatic and so
totally engrained in his life and work that everyone near was
aware of it.’ (1. Cinamon, pgs. 48-49) This religious background
was heavily evident in typographic works such as Die zehn
Gebote [The Ten Commandments] or Die Bergpredigt [The Sermon on
the Mount], (1. Cinamon, pgs. 81-83) the former being a woodcut
production created to scale of what Koch imagined the original
Ten Commandments were, and the latter hand-lettered individually into the shape of a cross on parchment. These compositions were engrossing and breathtaking, truly groundbreaking
masterpieces that illuminated his character and worthiness as a
man of strong resolve and conviction.

core

principles

of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

are what set the
for their

18 ✦ Masters of the Hand

‘Lettering gives me the purest
and greatest pleasure, and on
countless occasions it has been
to me what a song is to a
singer, painting to the painter;
a cheer to the joyous and a
sigh to the afflicted. To me it
is the happiest and most perfect
expression of my life.’ Koch's fervor and enthusiastic

Hermann Zapf himself claims
that Koch’s admiration derives
from how ‘Morris’s fundamental intention to use manual labor, and to reject the machine,
was the same��� (1. Cinamon, pg.
10). Koch employed these tra-

approach towards his unique,

ditional methods of typesetting

illustrative style stemmed from

emphatically, such as woodcut

his fascination with archaic

type, fearing that the new

letterforms and structures. He

wave of industrial typography

drew inspiration from medieval

and hot metal typesetting

and folk arts, implementing this

would make the old ways be-

style into his own punchcutting

come a lost art (2. Typophile).

and typographic compositions
later. Most of these works from
Renaissance periods held strong
religious themes or connotations,
which would also greatly
influence Koch’s works. He
was drawn towards the likes of
historical talents such as William
Morris, who was known for
his illuminated-style books
and textile arts.

for a specific enterprise. Zapf and Koch were both avid thinkers,
but of a different mindset.
What Koch achieved through elegant beauty and delicate
grace, contrasted with religious depth and strong conviction,
Zapf related to with mechanically driven, forward-thinking
ideals that balanced his creations with the fundamentals of calligraphic style and technologically innovative structures. Zapf
states, ‘Types are tools, the tools of the compositor. There are
suitable and unsuitable tools, and not every tool is fit for every
job; it is the compositor’s task to choose the right face for the
right job.’ (4. Zapf, pg. 19) While Koch’s practices and methods
may no longer be put into practice as often as they used to be,
especially with contemporary society’s mindset and all the technological advances bestowed upon us, the core fundamentals
Koch laid out are still subliminally followed to this day. Much
can be learned from his philosophies and ideas.

Cut from the same cloth and masters of
their craft, Koch and Zapf are linked by
their passion and dedication to the industry
of type design. Despite being active in very
different periods of time and containing

The two are forerunners to blending delicate

separate aesthetics, the two are, in a way,

elegance with sharp, contrasted forms that com-

paragons of a master and apprentice rela-

municate a message of strength, integrity and

tionship, analogous through their evolution

beauty. What radiated through both of their cre-

and work ethics, separated only by the

ations was their personal touch and integration

details in between. Koch set the founda-

of themselves into their work, using elements

tion of the principles Zapf would grow to

from their histories and environment, as well as

admire and respect, and as a result, Zapf

their own intellect and natural creativity as the

established his own creative footprint that

basis for many of their creations. Koch may have

subliminally contains the essence and

been more expressive than Zapfâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technological-

spirit of Koch.

ly driven mind, but both of their works carried
an organic quality, engaging and stimulating
their audiences both visually and neurally on an
emotional level. It was this passion and determination that not only breathed life into their static
letterforms, but created a timeless pattern of
intricate designs and ideas that not only kept the
traditions they followed alive, but would inspire
many others to follow and emulate.

Lectures on Calligraphy and Contemporary Developments in Type Design, with Illustrations and Bibliographical Notes, and a Complete List of His Typefaces. Chicago: Soc. of
Typographic Arts, 1987. Print.

Masters of the Hand

This book was a comparison and contrast between esteemed typographers Rudolf Koch and Hermann Zapf. My thesis explains how despite originating from the same country and coming from similar backgrounds, the two are vastly different in their approaches and methods to typography and calligraphy.